Thursday, June 11, 2015

Controlling An App

How do you control an app? This is a question I’m still
asking ever since the Singapore Parliament passed the Third-Party Taxi Booking
Service Providers Act last month.

The problem seems to arise from the increasing number of
people who uses phone apps like Uber and GrabTaxi to book taxis without going
through the normal regulated taxi companies. Not surprisingly, more and more
people had been complaining about the drivers using these apps to get
passengers with at least one passenger making a police report.

In the light of these cases, I can understand why the Land
Transport Authority (LTA) is looking into ways to regulate the numerous drivers
using the apps. However my question remains the same; how is LTA going to do
it?

Drivers who operate under services like Uber and GrabTaxi
are not regulated because anyone with a car can use the app to pick up
passengers as long as they are registered with the maker of the app. You don’t
even need to be a taxi to register with Uber. The drivers never go through LTA
so…how is LTA going to control them?

It’s no use passing an Act when you have no way to enforce
it. The Third-Party Taxi Booking Service Providers Act was passed last month,
maybe it’s time someone from LTA comes out to say how they are going to enforce
it.